If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Ready-made, Speer-compatible suspension + ridgeline?

I'm using some DIY web straps with my Speer IIIA, and while I'm quite proud of having made the aluminium buckles myself and all, they're not very convenient.

Is there any ready-made solution I can buy that would make the setup process smoother, like whoopie slings and all that, that's sure to work with a Speer? Also, can I get a ridgeline from some other vendor and simply attach to my Speer with my click?

As you can perhaps hear I don't know much about what's available for suspension, and want to stay out of DIY as much as possible...

(Hm, perhaps just making a loop on my straps and use the buckle to connect the hammock instead would make them much more user-friendly...!)

I have whoopies on my Speer...it's been a long time ago, but I seem to remember just cutting the stock webbing off at the whipping.

If you want a ridge line to hold up the Speer bug net, You're going to have to diy, or maybe talk Stu @ whoopieslings.com into working something up. The ridge line has to attach a foot or so up the suspension from the whipping bundle, so you need Prusik loops on the whoopies to attach the rl to.

Why do you need to cut the stock webbing before you can use whoopies? I have too little idea how these things work.

This is what I use now (trying to attach picture). I copied somebody else's design long ago, then forgot how I was planning to use it.
I think I'll have to add those loops and go try to find out why I would want to change to something else, although I haven't tried whoopies or any other way yet.

The RL seems like something I'll save for later, if it needs DIY and all.

Once I played around with a cinch buckle on my Speer webbing. This would require you to attach some rope from the cinch buckle to either a biner or directly through a loop in a tree strap ( would still need a biner or Dutch Hook though), so there would be that much "DIY", which isn't much. Obviously I used way more rope here than I needed, along with a heavy biner, but you get the idea. I would use a much smaller piece of Spider line rope or even some Amsteel and a UL biner if I decided to use this permanently. But it worked just fine. Point is, this approach allowed me to use a cinch buckle with my stock Speer webbing- without having to remove the webbing.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us....that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Romans 8:18,21-22

What are the reasons that we don't want to just tie the Speer's webbing to the biner directly? It might be terribly hard to untie in the morning, but that could be avoided. Is it much harder to adjust? Or would it harm the webbing to make knots with it?

What are the reasons that we don't want to just tie the Speer's webbing to the biner directly? It might be terribly hard to untie in the morning, but that could be avoided. Is it much harder to adjust? Or would it harm the webbing to make knots with it?

We make knots in webbing all the time, starting with the marlinspike hitch. So, no reason at all, to answer your question.

My opinion: if you're going to carry that much webbing, might as well go to a cinch buckle suspension, which is all of a piece. If you use tree straps long enough, sooner or later, you'll walk off and leave them on the trees.

So in other words: because webbing that long adds unnecessary weight!
First I wondered why people dislike the stock webbing so much they need to cut it off, now I see why.

Well, webbing long enough to go from a hammock and around a tree is no doubt heavier than a shorter piece of webbing used with a rope, such as with whoopie slings or even a stock HH rope/hugger set up. But it is not all that heavy.

Just the other day I was once again considering cutting my webbing off of my JRB Bridge in order to replace with whoopie slings. But then I weighed a long piece of webbing from a Harbor Freight ratchet strap. My scales won't do fractions of oz, so this is not all that accurate, but about 13 ft was ~2 oz. One of my WS won't even show 1 oz. But whatever it is ( maybe 0.7 oz?), you still have to use enough webbing to go around a tree, so I don't know, it would save me maybe 1.5 oz per end, not counting biners and cinch buckle or JRB tri-glides? ( Don't have to use a biner with cinch buckle, but sure is nice )

So that is some weight, but it is really not huge until you are really down in the UL category. So the main reason I would be cutting off webbing is because if I wanted to use WS for whatever reasons, I sure wouldn't want to have my old suspension also on the hammock.

All you do is slip your 1" webbing through the Triglides, and wrap webbing around tree and back through Triglides. Then adjust as needed. Not as slick as a cinch buckle/biner combo, but probably a bit lighter and works pretty good. I am still using that set up on my JRB bridge after several years. And it is probably the simplest change you can make.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us....that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Romans 8:18,21-22

...I don't know, it would save me maybe 1.5 oz per end, not counting biners and cinch buckle or JRB tri-glides?
...
So that is some weight, but it is really not huge until you are really down in the UL category.

Well, it might not be a lot, but it's still good to know. I might consider it in the future when I change my setup.

I don't think my stock webbing is long enough to go around the trees on both sides in many cases, so I wouldn't dare to leave my tree straps with, uh, "elephant trunks" at home.
I probably do carry lots of webbing et c I don't need though. Will consider this during the next few hikes, compare with the new hammock when it arrives, and see if there are any obvious upgrades.